posted at 12:59 pm on October 31, 2006 by Allahpundit

Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:

“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they’re crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have…

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men…”

There’s more. The nutroots will eat this up with a spoon, of course, but you almost have to pity the poor bastards at the DNC. This is the last thing they want to be talking about this week. Score one more for Lurch’s famous political acumen.

What’s got him so agitated this morning, anyway? Bennett knows.

One of those Republicans who never can be found to serve in war and have never worn the uniform — namely, John McCain — will, I hear, be addressing Kerry’s comments at 1 p.m. We’ll have video.

Update: Here’s a snippet of video of what Tony Snow had to say at the daily press briefing. I’ll post the full transcript once it’s available.

Snow said the quote “fits a pattern” of negative remarks from Kerry about U.S. soldiers and suggested that whether Democratic candidates — particularly those running on their military service backgrounds — agree with their 2004 standard-bearer should be a campaign litmus test…

Snow said a lot of Americans have joined the military since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“As for the notion that you can say this sort of thing about the troops and say you support them, it’s interesting,” the press secretary said.

Update: CNN’s run the Kerry clip a good four or five times within the past hour. Gotta give them some credit here, especially after the Juan Williams post this morning.

Update: Waffles responds with a bravura performance guaranteed to delight nutroots members young and old. He didn’t mean that the troops are lazy and uneducated when he implied the troops are lazy and uneducated; he meant that Bush’s policy in Iraq is broken. Also, Iraq is Vietnam and Republicans are chickenhawks who can’t admit their mistakes and are constantly changing the subject. In contrast to “real men” like him, who … can’t admit their mistakes and are constantly changing the subject.

Oh, and Republicans have a “cut and run” strategy in Afghanistan. Says the guy who brought a resolution to the Senate floor calling for withdrawal from Iraq by the end of the year.

All in all, though, surprisingly shrewd. The nutroots will be wanking to this for days, and since he can’t run to the right of Hillary or Obama, this at least gives him a shot to outflank Gore on the left in ’08. Whereupon he’ll be promptly torpedoed in the primaries.

While America’s servicemen and women are fighting and dying against our adversaries in the global War on Terror, John Kerry has the gall to criticize their intelligence, their education, and their motivation for service. His comments represent the absolute worst in Democrat scare tactics and present a grave insult to our all-volunteer Armed Forces.

Senator Kerry clearly owes an apology to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines serving in Iraq. But Mr. Kerry has refused to do so. Instead, he’s claiming that Republicans are “desperately distorting” his comments. Watch the video yourself … it is perfectly clear what Mr. Kerry said … what’s unclear is whether Mr. Kerry ever means what he says. Perhaps he was against his comments before he actually made them.

A source close to Kerry tells NBC News that he was trying to make a “tough and honest joke” about Bush and that in the process he omitted two words which changed the intended meaning. Per the source, Kerry meant to say that he can’t “overstress the importance of a great education” and that “if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy… You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq.” Kerry mistakenly dropped the “getting us” from his initial remarks.

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Given Kerry’s past record of slamming the troops, he’s not going to be able to talk his way out of it. And trying to blame Republicans for his own big mouth will only make it look worse for him.

Way to go, Kerry. Your big mouth is going to result in the last full week of the election season being dominated by your slamming of the troops. After losing the ’04 election, you may end up costing democrats in ’06 as well, even when the table was apparently all set for them.

Being a simple right wing nut-job maybe somebody can explain what a Katrina foreign policy is. Because apparently it has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. We really ought try that Katrina chic for treason, or at least make sure it takes caer of the brown people next time.

He critcized all those serving in Vietnam, so why wouldn’t he attack those serving in Iraq? He’s a truly pathetic piece of crap. He’s made his entire career on bashing the military. This is just par for the course.

I always love how liberals try to accuse Republicans of being “chickenhawks”, either openly or more subtly as in this case, when the vast majority of servicemembers vote Republican. Thank you, John Kerry, for insulting the military yet again. The only amazing thing is that there’s no mention of Vietnam in that blurb.

And yes, Mr. Kerry, I’ve worn the uniform (US Army–HOOAH!), and for longer than you did. (Not that it takes much to serve longer than you did.) And I won’t vote Democratic for as long as I live because of things like liberals hating the military (and our country)–not to mention Democratic efforts to disenfranchize military voters.

Allah, please tell me you’ve moved passed the “he didn’t really mean it the way it came out”, and realized the truth, that he DID mean what he said, and there is no way to interpret as being about Bush.

He’s talking to college kids laying out two life paths that he tells these kids is there option. Yes THEY (college kids) are “kids”, that just get to not live at home and party more. Not the brave patriotic military MEN and WOMEN. They are NOT “kids”. But that’s off the point. The point is, they were at this event to speak on education reforms in California, and he’s laying out future paths for these kids, plain and simple. And how could he be knocking Bush’s studies, sense Bush got better grades than him at Yale!?

I understand caution and all that, but come on. Look at the context and the audience. He is clearly degrading the troops, and not blasting Bush.

I wasn’t aware that George W Bush had been an underachiever in school.

First Kerry slips up by saying what he really believes and then when called on it he doesn’t have the honesty of his convictions, his first instinct is to not only lie but to disparage the President of the United States. Kerry is nothing but a blot on society.

(by the way, my comments about Kids wasn’t in reference to anything specific here… just the fact that I get tired of liberals referring to them as “kids” and acting as if Bush came in and snatched them from their mothers arms, when in fact they are the most brave and patriotic MEN and WOMEN the country has to offer.)

As I said last month … the most effective campaign ads the GOP could produce would be to actually use all of our money to purchase airtime for liberals on national television during prime time. Let them speak! The more they open their mouths … the further they sink.

I wonder how many of those people that voted for Kerry in ’04 because he was the Democrat candidate (and let’s face it, if you’re not a BDS moonbat, why else would you vote for him?) are proud of that vote today?
We, and the Swift Boat veterans, tried to tell them, though.

This is how Kerry really feels about our military–glad he ran his mouth off and let everyone know.
Maybe he can’t run for Prez in ’08, but Hillary feels the same way about the military (so does Kennedy, Durbin, Rangel, ad nauseum=entirety of the Dem Party except for Zell Miller and Lieberman).

As I said last month … the most effective campaign ads the GOP could produce would be to actually use all of our money to purchase airtime for liberals on national television during prime time. Let them speak! The more they open their mouths … the further they sink.

Gregor on October 31, 2006 at 1:32 PM

Interesting point. Hopefully ads are being put together with this comment as we speak.

I said “kerry is done” but upon further review I have to wonder.
He hasnt left a drowning woman under a bridge, doesnt have 90 grand in his freezer, etc… SO, in the moonbat lagoon, he’s perfect for the presidency.

I love the timing of this! Next he’ll say “I’m not going to be ‘swiftboated’ this time”. In the process of trying to recover what he never had in 2004, he’s created the biggest opening/chance for McCain to really, really shine. This day will be significant for a loooong time!

One can always count on elitist arrogant snobs to deliver in time – mise-en-temps!

Get your gear for the next Kerry Lied rally here. “Proud Veteran-American. Silent No More!” We haven’t gone away, Johnny, and we haven’t forgotten. We’re still here, locked and loaded, waiting for you to crawl back out from under that rock again. Bring it on, Johnny.

Be certain that your comments were taken as intended by military folk.

As I said when this first hit, even though he would try it’s impossible to claim those comments were aimed at the President. Check the audience, check the context, check the attitude. There isn’t enough nuance in France to turn those words as Kerry is now suggesting. Occam’s Razor holds on this one, and the most direct interpretation of his words is:

“Work hard to educate yourself and avoid becoming a stupid military pawn.”

Tell you what. Show of hands from current/former/retired military who agree; and bring a reasonable alternative interpretation if you don’t. I’ll accept ONE decent argument as evidence that Kerry can be trusted to explain his own words honestly.

I was actually prepared to give ol’ Frankenstein/Lurch the benefit of a doubt and be willing to believe that he made an honest, if idiotic mistake; but this pathetic “Republicans are all a bunch of chickenhawks!” rationalization leads me to believe that he meant what he said.

I love the timing of this! Next he’ll say “I’m not going to be ’swiftboated’ this time”. In the process of trying to recover what he never had in 2004, he’s created the biggest opening/chance for McCain to really, really shine. This day will be significant for a loooong time!

Especially given that McCain had his back in ’04, as far as the criticism of Kerry’s service. This is sweet!

JOhn Kerry is staying true to form. The big laugh is he denigrates anyone who did not serve in the military, yet, his time in the military is questionable, as is the way he “earned” his medals. “three strikes and you’re out”, but two of his “strikes” have proven to be very questionable. The man is a dunce, and Bennett is right, Kerry just flushed his ugly A– down the toilet as fat as a presidential run is concerned

I agree with everybody that hates seeing our troops dismissed as “kids”. That is a real pet peeve of mine. Not everybody joins up at 18–we have servicemembers from the whole range of the enlistment window, and from all walks of life. Especially after 9/11. (And I don’t say that just because I entered Basic Training three days before my 35th birthday. But it helps.) The men and women who put on the uniform every day to protect their country deserve better than to be referred to as children.

Republicans/conservatives are getting a lot of this all wrong. Instead of condemning Kerry (or any other Leftist making anti-military remarks) we should be thanking them for revealing who they are, and thanking them for their honesty. It’s SO much better that they come out and express their felt superiority over our soldiers than that they continue their gag-inducing “we support the troops” BS. So – thank you, Mr Kerry. May your fellow travelers be so open about their true feelings.

Is he really going to claim this was an attack on Bush and not the troops?

“Study hard, or else you could end up being Preseident of the most powerful country in the world.”

Well ok, thats quite an odd little statement there as well. Is that going to be his final position, or is he trying to come up with a better belief and that is just an intermediate change to his views?

Freelancer, I’m glad you agree… I just had to make the comment because too many in the other thread were buying the “he meant Bush” line.

Allah Update:

Update: CNN’s run the Kerry clip a good four or five times within the past hour. Gotta give them some credit here, especially after the Juan Williams post this morning.

Business decision?

RightWinged: ever notice they’re “kids” when they volunteer for war, but they’re adults when they’re 14 or 15 seeking an abortion without parental consent.

foxforce91 on October 31, 2006 at 1:38 PM

EXCELLENT point! I’m going to remember to use that.

By the way, not that anyone here should give any thought to Kerry’s ridiculous response to this whole thing, you might have noticed he turns it in to another “Bush lied us in to Iraq” opportunity. To which I say fu** you John Kerry, here’s 13 years of you making the WMD case. (not the normal “Dems on WMDs” lists we generally use)

Someone might be able to confront him with that list at one of the stops on the campaign trail, posted of at Malkin’s site.

Ok. So, Kerry says he wasn’t talking about our troops, he was talking about Bush. Let’s say that’s true, he was referring to Bush being “stuck in Iraq”. What kind of a moron would phrase it the way he did? This was the same man who would have had US foreign policy pass some sort of a “global test”. Yikes!

JK: “Honey, I’m on my way home”.
TH: “Oh, no you’re not; I saw your sorry straw man ass on TV; didn’t know they left the asylum house gates open again”.
JK: “Honey, I didn’t mean to demean the soldiers; after all they have better grades than I did; even that bastard ‘who stole the election from me’ had better grades than I did in college”
TH: “You’re damn right, you fool. I should have never married you. You promised to make me First Lady, and all I am is embarrassed by you”.
JK: “Now, honey, give me another last chance. I want to show this great country who the real chicken-hawks are; and the real men. Remember, I went to Vietnam”.
TH: “Shut up. You sound like a broken record. That gramophone went out years ago in this house”.
JK: “Teresa, mon amour, je t’aime beaucoup”
TH: “No, you don’t, you’re just a gigolo who lied to me. You were after my money and nothing else”.
JK: “But Teresa, remember that you adopted my last name once?”
TH: “Yes, I did, for a very brief time in 2004. What a joke you were then – what a joke you still are. I’m glad I changed it back to ‘Heinz’. Now that was a “real man”, my Mr. Heinz. I should have never married you”.
JK: “Honey…honey!”